Steph Curry Got His Shot Blocked Back in His Face by a Rookie and—Oof
When the Bulls traded Jimmy Butler for Kris Dunn, Zach LaVine, and a draft pick to select Finnish big man Lauri Markkanen, the league scoffed. But then a funny thing happened. Kris Dunn turned into a serviceable starting point guard, and Lauri Markkanen? Well, Lauri turned out to be a monster. The rookie has played out of his mind and showed flashes of dominance. He's currently averaging over 15 points per game and almost 7.6 rebounds. He's had multiple 30-point games, including a 33-point night where he out-dueled Kristaps Porzingis.
And last night, Markkanen got to show off his game to the World Champion Warriors. Now, Lauri didn't have a giant scoring night, and unsurprisingly the Dubs pulled out the win, but it was the young Chicago big man who had the highlight of the night. Steph Curry got him on an island and proceeded to dance for a while, but rather than breaking free and getting a clean shot off, the former MVP was swatted by Markkanen. But Markkanen didn't just block Steph's shot. No, he blocked it right back into Steph's face, and hard.
Forget the highlight of the night. That right there is a career highlight. No matter what happens with Lauri down the road—whether he ends up being Darko Milicic (hell, he's already better) or Dirk Nowitzki (let's not get carried away)—this block will be one of the first things people think about when they think of him. Not bad for a guy who's played only 42 career games.
And sure, Steph Curry will be fine. But in the meantime, let's just press play...
...and enjoy looking at this image.
